You are here

You chose: cinque stelle

President Sergio Mattarella appoints Senate President Maria Elisabetta Casellati to conduct exploratory negotiations for a new government. By way of light relief, in a street art cartoon copying Caravaggio's famous painting politicians are satirized as cardsharps.

Elections in key Italian cities have sent an electric shock throughout Italy. In Sunday's run-off in Rome, Virginia Raggi of the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), who won just over one-third in preliminary elections two weeks ago, was elected mayor with a stunning two-thirds of the vote. "We're in charge, we punished them!" crowed a delighted Beppe Grillo, founding father of the M5S.

Matteo Salvini, 41, has outfoxed both Umberto Bossi and Roberto Maroni as head of the Lega Nord which they invented, and is determined to propel support for that party of supposedly Northern pride and separatism onto the national stage. At least in the intentions of voters, he is succeeding, as the most recent opinion polls show. And at a rally in Rome Feb. 28 as many as 50,000 supporters turned out.

Matteo Salvini, 41, has outfoxed both Umberto Bossi and Roberto Maroni as head of the Lega Nord which they invented, and is determined to propel support for that party of supposedly Northern pride and separatism onto the national stage. At least in the intentions of voters, he is succeeding, as the most recent opinion polls show. And at a rally in Rome Feb. 28 as many as 50,000 supporters turned out.

In a globalized world, the gigantic wave laps on distant shores, and
never have Italian voters generated so much outside interest as during the two days of national general elections Feb. 24-25. For their part, Italian commentators have borrowed the phrase "Tsunami Tour", as actor-politician Beppe Grillo dubbed his campaign, as a larger metaphor for the stunning results.

Whatever the interpretations, with one-fifth of the electorate called to vote, the elections Sunday and Monday amounted to a serious sampler. Although its success on the local level is not yet comparable to that of the Socialist sweep in France, the Center-Left, led by the Partito Democratico (PD), but with outside support, fared better than any other coalition.

i-Italy

The multimedia network for all things Italian in America
Editor in Chief: Letizia Airos